How to apply for the Streamlined Amnesty Program

Eligibility Review

Before any forms are prepared, Capital Tax Limited confirms the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures (SFOP) is actually the right path for you. The four qualifying tests (US filing obligation, non-willful conduct, 330-day foreign presence, and no US abode) are each a potential disqualifier.

Getting this wrong is the single biggest risk: if SFOP does not apply to your situation, filing under it anyway invites the IRS to treat the filing as a failed submission and subject you to full penalties. Capital Tax Limited also identifies the years in play, typically the most recent three tax years.

Document Gathering

This is where most of the elapsed time lives, because it depends on compiling paperwork. For three years of federal returns and six years of FBARs, typical documents include:

• Foreign bank and brokerage statements for all six years (each calendar year's high balance is required for FBAR)
• Foreign pay slips or local-country tax returns
• Foreign pension and retirement account statements
• Rental property income and expense records, if applicable
• Records of foreign tax paid, for Foreign Tax Credit claims
• Proof of US physical-presence absence (passport stamps, visa records, residence certificates) for the 330-day test

Banks can usually provide older statements if requested. If you cannot locate everything, there are methods to reconstruct reasonable estimates, though it is cleaner to work from primary documents where possible.

Return Preparation

Capital Tax Limited prepares three years of Form 1040 federal returns, any applicable state returns, and up to six years of FinCEN Form 114 (the FBAR).

Each return applies the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion or Foreign Tax Credit, depending on which produces the better result for you, and accounts for any Form 8938 (FATCA) reporting if your assets cross the thresholds. You review drafts before anything is signed.

The Non-Willful Certification

This is the legally significant piece of the compliance package. Form 14653 is a signed statement in which you certify, under penalty of perjury, that your non-compliance was not willful.

The certification requires a narrative: a plain-English explanation of why you did not file. A typical narrative details when you moved abroad, your assumption that paying local-country taxes satisfied your obligations, and when you learned of the FBAR filing requirement.

Capital Tax Limited drafts this with you, which you edit into your own voice. If there are facts in your history that could read as willful, this is the moment to pull a tax attorney into the conversation.

Submission

The complete package (three returns, six FBARs, and Form 14653) is submitted to the IRS. You pay any tax due plus statutory late-payment interest at the time of submission.

The FBARs are filed electronically with FinCEN through the BSA E-Filing System, separately from the streamlined package. They are not included in the paper submission sent to the IRS; FinCEN and the IRS receive them through different channels.

IRS Processing

The IRS does not send a confirmation letter for Streamlined acceptance. Silence generally represents acceptance. If issues arise, they will contact you, typically with a request for more information rather than an outright rejection.

Once the processing window passes without contact, you are in compliance for the years filed. From there, you return to the normal annual cycle: file your current-year return by April 15 (or June 15 with the expat extension) and your FBAR by April 15 (extended to October 15).